2011-08-23

August 1-23, traveled to Lethbridge, Canada to help plaster several buildings at Harvest Haven Health, an eighty-acre, organic, mixed market farm with an on-farm store. The farm is a synergistic diversification of beef cattle, sheep, layer and broiler chickens, turkeys, pasture, hay, grain fields, vegetable and herb gardens, strawberries, raspberries, bee hives for honey, and an orchard of apples, plums and cherries.

In addition to the Japanese timber frame "store", a home, guest house and boiler house are also being built. The store, home and guest house feature a durisol foundation and light straw clay walls.

Durisol Block

Light Straw Clay Walls

Durisol Blocks are a combination of wood fiber-cement and rock wool insulation. In light straw clay construction, a mixture of mainly straw and some clay slip are packed into permanent or removable forms. In this case, the forms are removed, leaving a surface similar to straw bale walls.

Light Straw Clay Mixer

Larson trusts are constructed onto the timber frame to accommodate the straw clay walls. The interiors are finished with American Clay and the exteriors with hydraulic lime (水硬性石灰).